The New Mexico State Aggies have updated their future football schedules, which includes a game against the LSU Tigers in 2014.

New Mexico State will travel to face LSU at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge on Sept. 27, 2014. In their first and only meeting back in 1996, the Tigers routed the Aggies 63-7.

Although an official announcement has yet to be made, the game is listed on NMSU’s official website and their SID confirmed to FBSchedules.com that there is a signed contract.

The Aggies, currently an FBS Independent, will join the Sun Belt Conference in 2014. With that upcoming move, they now have too many non-conference games scheduled in 2014 and will have to cancel one.

Other games currently scheduled for 2014 include Cal Poly, New Mexico, at Rice, and at UTEP.

The Aggies are also over-scheduled in 2015 with a home game against UTEP and road games at Florida, Ole Miss, Boston College, and New Mexico.

New Mexico State has also added two games to their 2017 schedule. The Aggies will host UTEP and travel to rival New Mexico.

As for LSU, the addition of New Mexico State certainly doesn’t help the strength of their 2014 schedule. The Tigers are already slated to host ULM on Sept. 6 and Georgia Southern on Sept. 13. GSU will be a member of the Sun Belt in 2014 after moving up from the FCS.

With the College Football Playoff set to begin after the 2014 season, schools may need to toughen up their non-conference schedules. The selection committee is likely to weigh strength of schedule as a factor, although how they plan to do that remains a mystery.

Comments (9)

If LSU finishes 11-1, and doesn’t win the SEC West they have no chance of being selected for the new 4-team playoff. Simply put the AD OF LSU should be fired for such a cowardly move. New Mexico State, Georgia Southern and ULM are chump opponents. Who are they trying to kid?

Also, they’ve been pretty clear they will put more attention on OOC strenght of schedule than overall strength of schedule. In other words, Boise State (or whoever) can’t help their conference schedule, but they can help their OOC schedule. Therefore, conversely, SEC teams can’t totally rest on in-conference schedule. If they schedule all cupcakes OOC it will really hurt them, even if their overall strength of schedule is tough.

Pay Boise State 2 million to come to Baton Rouge. The game would be telecast live on national TV and both schools make money. Here is the problem: LSU wants cupcake games that are cheaper and Boise will not go on the road any more for a one game series without a return trip to Boise to host a game in their tiny little stadium.

Boise schedules H-H deals with other schools all the time. LSU paying Boise massive amounts of money for a game in BR would dictate that they wouldn’t return to Boise. LSU could easily get a deal with Boise done. Just agree to a H-H and don’t let egos get in the way. I’m just sick of LSU getting 7-8 home games a year.

The only reason NM State is willing to schedule LSU is to get the $. LSU can’t, repeat can’t, get quality opponents even scheduling a home & home for two reasons — both parties want their home game first so it actually happens and because the other potential LSU opponent is frightened of a loss for their own post-season aspirations. No, I’m not an LSU fan or an SEC-firster. All other currently good or historically recognized programs are struggling with this.

Not quite the whole story. LSU makes more money playing cupcakes at home and padding their schedule than doing a true home & home with a nationally rated program Boise would love to do a home & home with LSU but not a single game in Baton Rouge and LSU would never travel to play in a tiny little cracker box like Bronco stadium.

I agree 100% with the part of your comment that says it’s almost impossible to get a quality opponent to agree to a home-and-home because there’s no guarantee the first host team will keep their end of the bargain.